Drawing theoretical insight from liberal and radical feminist theory, this study was a critical ethnographic investigation of the lived status of Title IX in one fourth grade gender-integrated physical education class. From the opposing feminist viewpoints of equality and equity, an interest was taken in whether Title IX represents a victory for the emancipation of female physicality or if ideological and lived systems of patriarchal gender differentiation continue to oppress and remove females as capable and equal participants within the gender-integrated physical education context. Qualitative methods of data collection were used including, non-participant observation, formal and informal interview, and document analysis. Data collection took place over a 14 week period of on-site fieldwork. Data were analyzed using the indicator-concept model (Strauss, 1987). Mixed genres were employed at the level of textual representation based on the incongruence of conventional ethnography with the poststructural stance of feminist inquiry (Richardson, 1994). Results suggest that the provision of equal access to a common curriculum has not ensured a physical education environment free of ideologically based gender discrimination. A strong "we-they" dichotomy, differentiated on the basis of gender line, was found to define physical life in the context studied. This dichotomy was not a neutral construction of difference, but rather an ideologically driven deceptive distinction which largely awarded physical space to boys while asserting that boys and girls are not only different but boys are, for the most part, physically better. Based on the asymmetrical power dynamics which were found to sustain this dichotomy, a radical feminist amendment to Title IX is proposed in the form of a Model for Connected Teaching in Physical Education. This model is designed to help / teachers and students "connect to" and critically assess the gender ideologies which guide daily thinking and action in physical education. Suggestions are made for getting this model started in the schools. These suggestions focus attention on how to create the space and dialogue necessary to extricate and critically assess what is known about gender and physicality that may predispose the inequitable handling of physical education content. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: A, page: 2607. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77484 |
| Contributors | Nilges, Linda Marie., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 249 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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